Eileen Goodwin

A pay rise for midwives goes ‘‘nowhere'' towards making the profession financially viable, College of Midwives Otago chairwoman Prue Thomson says.

Some patients could end up shelling out more money to see their GP under a proposed shake-up aimed at making access to low-cost appointments fairer.

A man  who saw the Castle St balcony collapse last night said there were up to 15 people on it at the time and about 20 underneath.

Syrian refugee children will be equipped for school when they start their new lives in Dunedin.

Clutha-Southland MP Todd Barclay has apologised to a staff member for releasing her resignation letter to the media.

A man who defies conventional medical thinking on Parkinson's is visiting Dunedin next week.

A financial consultant's report the Southern District Health Board released by order of the Office of the Ombudsman reflects the "starting point for the journey'' of the embattled board, chief executive Carole Heatly said yesterday.

The Labour Party is trying to redefine itself through a future of work policy aimed at the effects of automation and its impact on work security. On a visit to Dunedin, finance spokesman Grant Robertson spoke to political reporter Eileen Goodwin about the project he is spearheading.

It is hoped the venerable City of Dunedin Pipe Band will ‘‘make a comeback'' after fielding no entries in the weekend's Otago-Southland regional pipe band contest.

Veteran food writer Charmian Smith agreed to taste-test the meals that have prompted dozens of meals on wheels cancellations. Health reporter Eileen Goodwin was on hand to gauge her response.

More than a quarter of Dunedin meals on wheels recipients dumped the service in a single month after the food was trucked frozen from the North Island, new figures show.

Dunedin Hospital nurse Jennifer King reckons older nurses have a thing or two to teach their younger colleagues.

More women will be tested for the BRCA gene mutations strongly linked with breast and ovarian cancer because access to the potentially life-saving tests has been widened.

The Southern District Health Board's projected deficit is ‘‘pretty ugly and large'' this year even after it slashed millions of dollars from budgets.

The existence of a list of cost-cutting "quick hits'' has been disclosed at the Southern District Health Board as it seeks to cull $4.1 million from its budget.

Canning the health board election could undermine services at the Southern District Health Board by allowing secretive decisions without public scrutiny, Dr John Chambers' submission on a Bill to scrap the poll says.

A popular offshore buyers' club for new-generation hepatitis C drugs is setting up a ‘‘two-tier'' health system and the worst-affected patients could miss out, a Dunedin specialist says.